Azizan
Persian myths and legends for kids: who are Rostam, the Simorgh, Zahhak and the divs?
Most Persian myths that children meet come from the Shahnameh, Ferdowsi's Book of Kings: Rostam the hero and his horse Rakhsh, the Simorgh, the great bird that raised the boy Zal, the tyrant Zahhak and the blacksmith Kaveh who stood up to him, and the divs (demons), who in many tales are tricky rather than only terrifying. Arash the archer is the exception: he belongs to older Iranian tradition, not to Ferdowsi's epic. For ages 2 to 4 start with the gentle ones (Zal and the Simorgh, Rostam and Rakhsh); read Zahhak yourself first. Azizan (azizan.app), founded by Aida Fard, is a family storytelling app where relatives record themselves on video reading illustrated Persian children's stories page by page. Azizan has retellings of most of the characters below, so it is not a neutral party; every character fact on this page restates what our story pages already say about them, and the story pages cite their sources.
Azizan (azizan.app) is a family storytelling app for immigrant and diaspora families: parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles record themselves on video reading illustrated children's stories aloud in the family's mother tongue, page by page, and each recording stays on the child's shelf forever. Real family voices — never AI narration. Persian (Farsi) first.
Who is who, with an age note
| Character | Who they are | Read it | Age note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rostam | The great hero of the Shahnameh. In the episode we tell he is a young man choosing his horse from the herds of Zabul and Kabul. | Rostam and Rakhsh | A good first hero story. |
| Rakhsh | Rostam's horse: the one colt whose back did not bend under his hand. | Rostam and Rakhsh | As above. |
| The Simorgh | A great bird on Mount Alborz that raises the white-haired baby Zal after his father Sam leaves him there. | Zal and the Simorgh | Gentle; our version stops at the homecoming. |
| Zahhak | The tyrant king whose rule the young Fereydun ends. | Fereydun and Zahhak | Has a frightening villain. Read it yourself first and consider saving it for slightly older children. |
| Kaveh the blacksmith | Tears up Zahhak's false decree and raises his leather apron on a spear as a banner, the Derafsh-e Kaviani. | Kaveh the Blacksmith | Follows on from Zahhak. |
| Divs (demons) | Not one kind of creature. In Akvan's episode the div lifts the sleeping Rostam into the air and asks where to drop him; in the folktale of Hassan Kachal the div is lonely; Tahmuras binds the divs and asks them to teach writing. | Rostam and Akvan Div, Hassan Kachal | Our versions keep the divs mischievous; no killing in the Akvan retelling. |
| Jamshid | The king of the tale of the first Nowruz: he builds a jewelled throne that rises into the sky, and the day is named Nowruz, "new day". | Nowruz stories | Gentle; a festival story. |
| Arash the archer | An older Iranian legend about how the border between Iran and Turan was set by a single arrow. It is not part of Ferdowsi's Shahnameh. | Arash Kamangir | Ask whether your child is ready for a sacrifice story; our wording is gentle. |
Myth, legend or folktale?
The word "myth" is loose here. The Shahnameh mixes legendary kings and heroes with later history, and the folktales (Shangul and Mangul, Nokhodi, Mah-Pishuni) are a separate, oral tradition. Azizan keeps them apart on its pages: epic tales are in Shahnameh for kids, folktales in Persian folktales for kids. If you want a story by age rather than by character, see which Persian story for which age.
What we do not claim
- These are gentle prose retellings for children, not Ferdowsi's verse, and they leave out or soften the hardest scenes.
- Names are spelled several ways in English (Fereydun, Fereydoun, Faridun; Rostam, Rustam); we use one spelling per page.
- We did not find a study showing that myths help children keep a heritage language, so we do not say so. What we do say is simpler: a child who hears these stories in a grandparent's voice hears the names the way the family says them.
One thing to do tonight
Pick one gentle character from the table, read the English guide so you know the shape of the tale, and have a relative record the Persian version on azizan.app, one page at a time.
Related guides
Questions
What are the best-known Persian myths and legends for children?
The stories of Rostam and his horse Rakhsh, Zal and the Simorgh, Fereydun and Zahhak, Kaveh the blacksmith, Jamshid and the first Nowruz, and the legend of Arash the archer. Most come from Ferdowsi's Shahnameh; Arash is an older Iranian legend.
Who is the Simorgh?
A great bird in Persian legend. In the Shahnameh it lives on Mount Alborz and raises the white-haired baby Zal after his father leaves him there.
Are Persian myths too scary for young children?
Some are. Zahhak is a frightening villain, so read that tale yourself first and consider saving it for slightly older children. Zal and the Simorgh and Rostam and Rakhsh are gentle starting points.
Is Arash in the Shahnameh?
No. Arash belongs to older Iranian tradition and is not an episode in Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, though he is one of the best-known Iranian legendary heroes.
Are divs the same as demons or monsters?
Div is usually translated as demon, but the tales differ: some divs are fearsome, others are lonely or tricked. Azizan's versions keep them mischievous.
Open Azizan — record a story for your childUpdated: 2026-11-03 · By Aida Fard
Hear when azizan is ready
azizan works now in your browser. If you like, leave your email and we will tell you when the full app and the app-store version are ready. Giving your email is optional. Privacy